Another year is over!

The Roundpeg holiday letter has become an annual tradition. I don’t write one for my family, but every year I stop and write one for the ‘Peg. It is the chance to look back on the year; the ups and downs, the goodbyes and the hellos, the laughs, the animals, and of course the work.

Goings and Comings

We started the year with a few departures. Both Cherilyn and Page left the ‘Peg in March to embark on new adventures. We wished them well and of course they are always welcome to drop by for a Popsicle, cupcake, or cheese if they are in the area.

We invited Coby, our intern to stay on after the she finished a project that was supposed to last a few weeks. A year later, she is still here, and we are oh so glad.

TaLeah settled in to the design chair and began making subtle tweaks in our brand almost right away. There is a new font, a lot more photography, and a new website coming early next year. 

Staci joined the content team bringing a fresh voice to our clients’ social media accounts. With a talent for video she has definitely helped us up our social game this year.

If you haven’t had a chance to meet these awesome women in person, be sure to check out their profiles and connect with them on LinkedIn. 

Road Trips

The little white house is lots of fun, but every now and then we need to get out for a bit of inspiration.

This year our road trips included a trip to the Children’s Museum (because let’s face it, we are all still kids at heart), a romp through downtown Carmel on a nice sunny day, a visit to Newfields to see the amazing Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror, and cooking lessons at Sur La Table.

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The Technology

For a company filled with people who live their lives on the bleeding edge of technology, sometimes it is hard for us to change. But this year we said goodbye to several tech tools that just no longer met our needs.

Software upgrades – We replaced Octoboard with Dash This as our reporting software. It seems like a small thing, but being able to complete monthly reports quickly means we have way more time to actually work on projects for our clients. This is especially helpful since we have added some terrific new companies to our client list including; Fuel Merchandise, The Brightworks Group, and JM Tax Advocates.

Hardware upgrades – There were server and computer upgrades as we transitioned the last of our computers to Windows 10. I thought they worked fine, but our tech support team at Byte Cafe insisted that the old software just wouldn’t cut it anymore.

We have had the same phone system since we moved into the building almost thirteen years ago. While it still worked, it was definitely time for an upgrade. It is one small thing that has made such a difference as we work with clients across the globe and occasionally work from home

The Work

I know it is hard to believe with all the animals, road trips, games, and food we actually get work done too. This year it was really hard to pick just one or two things to feature, because we have done so many cool projects.

Knot Today – One of my favorites is the logo for a new non-profit – KNOT Today. Our client had such a clear picture of what the brand meant to them that it was easy to create several versions to choose from, each different but still conveying the essence of their message.

We finished the logo in late November and are now hard at work putting the finishing touches on their website.

Digital Toolbox – Sometimes you have to do work for a very tough client, yourself. That was the challenge the team faced this year as we shifted the emphasis of the Digital Toolbox from a conference to an online community. We changed the branding and completely redesigned the website.

We loaded pages and pages of web copy, updated all our small business resources, recorded updated versions of our presentations, and launched a new Facebook group. The interest in the community continues to grow as more business owners join every week, confirming that it was worth taking on this tough client!

So another year has come and gone and we are looking forward to what 2020 will bring. We hope to have time to catch up and visit with you sometime next year.

From all of us at Team ‘Peg, we wish you a very prosperous and happy new year.